Is there a good small camera for front and rear doors?

[Revlus]

Hi Revlus,

1) I would try this, and I know in general not a good idea to put an indoor camera behind glass, however in this case the glass is cut into smaller pieces so you can more easily isolate inside light from getting in and in this case I think it's worth trying as the view is straight on - at test worth testing out.
You have a lot of glass on that door, you could try a indoor Hikvision CUBE or similar camera pushed right up to the small clear glass section by the doorbell, turn of the IR on it, and see what sort of results you get?
( you can use black felt around the lens to seal the inside light from getting into the glass/lens.

2) The other option seems to me to accept the possible UV exposure issues and sun reflection issues and plan to replace or look at UV protection options on the mini-dome.

3) Maybe have to change to the 42xx turret model? Larger and not as pretty, but solid performer

Thanks for the reply. Don't think Option 1 would work due to the WF. (wife factor). I'd need to set something pretty ugly up to get that to work.

Has anyone used the windshield glass protectants on camera lenses? (see that link)
It suggests it has some UV protection... and lasts in the rain, has dust/snow/dirt protection due to the 'slippery' surface, etc.

If I can do that with the wedge... and not be forced into 1 or 3... happy wife... happy life.... :-D

Thoughts on the protectant?

 

[Revlus]

Reading up on that protectant.... seems it polishes pretty darned clear. Can't see that it 100% UV protects anything though... but I'm going to give it a go with the wedge. Thinking to have a starlight at the corner of the house looking down the path to the door... zoomed in so I get an ID right when they get around the trees in view of the cam. Then the wedge by the doorbell... angled a little bit the other way.... Then thinking of a nice overview cam on the ceiling of the overhang.... to see what's going on during the day.
Also going to mount a starlight z12 by the corner and zoom in on the road (incidentally right near the mailbox which is nice) and setup alpr. Something like this:



Any ID10T errors here?

 

[mat200]

Reading up on that protectant.... seems it polishes pretty darned clear. Can't see that it 100% UV protects anything though... but I'm going to give it a go with the wedge. Thinking to have a starlight at the corner of the house looking down the path to the door... zoomed in so I get an ID right when they get around the trees in view of the cam. Then the wedge by the doorbell... angled a little bit the other way.... Then thinking of a nice overview cam on the ceiling of the overhang.... to see what's going on during the day.
Also going to mount a starlight z12 by the corner and zoom in on the road (incidentally right near the mailbox which is nice) and setup alpr. Something like this:

View attachment 25679

Any ID10T errors here?

Hi Revlus,

Looks like a good plan, just remember to test the theory before drilling any holes in the mortar ;-)

 

[Revlus]

Hi Revlus,

Looks like a good plan, just remember to test the theory before drilling any holes in the mortar ;-)

:-D Yea, seriously... I do have my test rig doing rounds around the house right now. Definitely glad I did that based on the suggestions here.. Some 8' high locations i chose should definitely be lower at 6' to get the angles/recognition I need. Taught me a lot about the zooms or FoV I'll need as well, helping me choose cameras.

Any suggestion on the wedge lens to use there? Bottom of stairs is about 10ft away from camera.

 

[mat200]

:-D Yea, seriously... I do have my test rig doing rounds around the house right now. Definitely glad I did that based on the suggestions here.. Some 8' high locations i chose should definitely be lower at 6' to get the angles/recognition I need. Taught me a lot about the zooms or FoV I'll need as well, helping me choose cameras.

Any suggestion on the wedge lens to use there? Bottom of stairs is about 10ft away from camera.

Hi Revlus,

Normally I like the 2.8mm for the frontdoor as people will be right next to my camera, and I have another camera capturing the FOV on the approach to the front door.

With the glass front door, maybe the 2.8mm is less important .. so maybe consider either the 2.8mm or 3.6mm options.

Do you have a varifocal to test with?

 

[Revlus]

Hi Revlus,

Normally I like the 2.8mm for the frontdoor as people will be right next to my camera, and I have another camera capturing the FOV on the approach to the front door.

With the glass front door, maybe the 2.8mm is less important .. so maybe consider either the 2.8mm or 3.6mm options.

Do you have a varifocal to test with?

I have the IPC-HFW8232E-Z with a 4.1mm ~16.4mm lens... going against the 1/1.9" Starlight image sensor.
I also am testing with the IPC-HFW5231E-Z12 which is 5.3mm to 64mm lens, going against the 1/2.8" Starlight image sensor.

With the 4.1mm going against the larger sensor... there is LESS zoom than if it went against the 1/2.8" sensor, if my photography memory serves me correctly.

So not sure I have a good one for testing....

Oh, but I have a crappy Foscam R2 which as a 1/3" sensor and is 2.8mm lens... that's probably my best bet. And wireless so easy to test with .. bonus! Score one for Foscam.. crappy wide angle test cam! Ok, but I have to admit, it's doing a great job for the baby room. Really great in fact.

 

[looney2ns]

Reading up on that protectant.... seems it polishes pretty darned clear. Can't see that it 100% UV protects anything though... but I'm going to give it a go with the wedge. Thinking to have a starlight at the corner of the house looking down the path to the door... zoomed in so I get an ID right when they get around the trees in view of the cam. Then the wedge by the doorbell... angled a little bit the other way.... Then thinking of a nice overview cam on the ceiling of the overhang.... to see what's going on during the day.
Also going to mount a starlight z12 by the corner and zoom in on the road (incidentally right near the mailbox which is nice) and setup alpr. Something like this:

View attachment 25679

Any ID10T errors here?

That location for LPR is a bit optimistic I'd say.
Please read here: LPR

 

[nbstl68]

Can this camera (or other doorbell cameras) be set to trigger the app and\or doorbell ding just by detecting motion if someone walks up but does not press the button?

 

[Revlus]

That location for LPR is a bit optimistic I'd say.
Please read here: LPR

Thanks @looney2ns I've been reading there, and places like here: Camera Configuration — openalpr 2.2.0 documentation

Not sure I have a better choice of camera placement that is on the house at the moment due to trees and whatever else. So... figured I'd try it out.
If it doesn't work well enough, that means I'm putting a camera on the property somewhere, which doesn't really sound appealing due to easy access, inability to hide it very well, etc.

 

[tone363]

Glad I found this thread as this is exactly what I was looking for. Curious though as to what lens to get. We have a sidewalk that goes up 2 stairs then its about 10 feet on our porch from those stairs to the front door. The house is on one side of the 10 foot walk on the porch and the ground the other, pic attached for reference. I was thinking 3.6 due to not needing as wide of an angle but curious on others thoughts. I also was thinking of mounting above the door, thanks!!

 

[mat200]

Glad I found this thread as this is exactly what I was looking for. Curious though as to what lens to get. We have a sidewalk that goes up 2 stairs then its about 10 feet on our porch from those stairs to the front door. The house is on one side of the 10 foot walk on the porch and the ground the other, pic attached for reference. I was thinking 3.6 due to not needing as wide of an angle but curious on others thoughts. I also was thinking of mounting above the door, thanks!! View attachment 25710

Hi Tone,

I got a 2.8mm and mounted it by the door at about 5 feet high, the ID distance to 100 ppf will be about 10 feet iirc with that lens and at 1080p res. I am using another camera to cover the walkway. I opted for the wider view and it works well for me to catch those close up to the front door.

 

[tone363]

Thanks for this. I was torn between the 2.8 and 3.6 and this helps, thanks!!

 

[cue003]

I am going to have to checkout this camera for the front door and probably skip the Arlo Pro 2 and ring altogether.

 

[mat200]

I am going to have to checkout this camera for the front door and probably skip the Arlo Pro 2 and ring altogether.

Hi cue003,

Definitely skip the Arlo and Ring cameras - they are actually very pricey for what you're getting as well as unreliable compared to other options many people are using here.

If you need a video intercom doorbell product take a look at the various threads here on that subject.

 

[Arjun]

What puzzles is that video doorbells and any IP camera for the matter placed by a door is within hands reach. In this particular situation, is this added to the exceptions rule when installing cameras in a new install? Seems like no other choice for most part

 

[Myllerman]

Hi cue003,

Definitely skip the Arlo and Ring cameras - they are actually very pricey for what you're getting as well as unreliable compared to other options many people are using here.

If you need a video intercom doorbell product take a look at the various threads here on that subject.

I always wondered how those arlo batteries hold up in -20C cold for example. Cant be very long. Also the videoquality for the price is very low. Comparable to $20 wired ip-cam from Ali.

 

[mat200]

I always wondered how those arlo batteries hold up in -20C cold for example. Cant be very long. Also the videoquality for the price is very low. Comparable to $20 wired ip-cam from Ali.

Hi Myllerman,

I would think you should compare a Arlo / Ring camera to a similarly priced wired camera. ( If you have the funds for an Arlo Pro 2 kit or Ring Floodlights you can get some really nice IP PoE cameras )

 

[looney2ns]

What puzzles is that video doorbells and any IP camera for the matter placed by a door is within hands reach. In this particular situation, is this added to the exceptions rule when installing cameras in a new install? Seems like no other choice for most part

If securely mounted, doesn't matter. You'll have the ID shot either way.

 

[tibimakai]

I have installed the Ring Pro, without subscription(I will have the security system recording 24/7) and I will have this camera, above it installed soon.

 

[mat200]

I have installed the Ring Pro, without subscription(I will have the security system recording 24/7) and I will have this camera, above it installed soon.

Hi Tibimakai,

Looking forward to some comparison shots!